Tourists’ demand for outdoor sport-related activities has been growing in the last decade, leading to the recognition of the outdoor tourism potential of the development of rural and urban areas where the activities could take place. While the literature has recognized this potential, its features and the existing conditions for its practice are often not fully comprehended, mainly due to the lack of measurement systems and performance indicators. This study addresses this gap by proposing a wide-ranging assessment matrix of nine outdoor-related activities, employing northern Portugal as a study area. Based on an exploratory qualitative analysis employing semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders (public, private and third sector), the main contribution of this study lies in the development of the outdoor tourism assessment matrix (OTAM) to collect data. The OTAM matrix aims to identify and assess the conditions, namely the infrastructure and resources, for the practice of outdoor and sport tourism-related activities within the sustainable development pillars. The nine matrices comprising the OTAM allow the identification of the places where the outdoor activities can be practiced, and the conditions under which they can contribute to the definition of the development strategies of outdoor tourism.

Abstract:We address the post-entry performance of new Portuguese firms by investigating the structural characteristics of the hazard and survival functions, using non-parametric survival analysis. In order to approach prevalence of some stylized facts and determinants of new firm survival, we produced a new entrepreneurship database, using the administrative data of Quadros de Pessoal, following the Eurostat/OECD´s internationally comparable business demography methodology. This allowed the computation of a comprehensive array of entrepreneurship indicators on employer enterprise and survival dynamics in Portugal, over a period of 18 years, disaggregated in dimensions such as sectors, regions and size classes.

abstract:The relationship between a country's level of activity in the construction industry and its stage of economic development is a complex one. Several studies over the last forty years, based mainly on cross sectional data, found a positive association between national income and several measures of the construction industry activity. early studies were concerned with the role of the construction sector, as part of physical capital, in the promotion of economic growth and development. a dominant paradigm that later emerged is the 'Bon curve' or the inverted U-shaped pattern of development. More recent research, based on longitudinal analysis, has also pointed to the non-linear relationship between the share of construction in GDP and the level of income per capita. Using time-series data drawn from the United nations, this study applies an econometric methodology to assess the validity of the underlying propositions in a low-middle income economy-Cape Verde -over the long period of 38 years. The findings are in line with the assumptions that in the upward growth trend in developing countries, the pattern of the construction industry tends to follow that of the general economy.

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Many approaches have been made during the past years to the gas sensing task. It may be addressed using one sensor or a set of arranged sensors. Solid state chemical sensing has been systematically used for the development of gas sensor devices, based on semi conducting metal oxides. There are three major issues related to chemical sensing: sensitivity, selectivity and stability. Selectivity may be improved by the use of sensor arrays (also referred as electronic noses), while the use of additives may improve sensitivity (pure doped materials or porosity control). In this paper we describe our current work about the sensitivity and selectivity issues. A tentative explanation of the observed resistance and impedance changes by porosity control is given. #